FGD 66: Here come the Leafs (7pm MT, SN West)
By Ryan Pike
5 years agoSaturday night was about fanfare and ballyhoo at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Monday night is about the home team getting back to work.
The Calgary Flames (41-17-7, 89 points) get their one annual visit from the Toronto Maple Leafs (40-21-4, 84 points), the country’s most or least popular team depending on where you live. Coming off a tough loss on Saturday, the Flames will be dialed-in and will hopefully feed off what will be a boisterous crowd.
The puck drops at 7 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.
The Flames
Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Gaudreau – Monahan – Lindholm
Tkachuk – Backlund – Bennett
Frolik – Jankowski – Czarnik
Mangiapane – Ryan – Hathaway
Tkachuk – Backlund – Bennett
Frolik – Jankowski – Czarnik
Mangiapane – Ryan – Hathaway
Giordano – Brodie
Hanifin – Hamonic
Kylington – Andersson
Hanifin – Hamonic
Kylington – Andersson
David Rittich will start for the home team, backed up by Mike Smith. The expected healthy scratches are Oscar Fantenberg, Dalton Prout and Curtis Lazar. Oliver Kylington returns to action after missing a couple games with a lingering shot block injury.
The Flames lost on Saturday by a 4-2 score, their first such loss in eight games. Their skaters weren’t overly sharp in the third period and lost because (a) they couldn’t turn a huge possession edge into a lot of goals in the first 40 minutes and (b) their goaltending didn’t bail them out. Well, they’re facing a fast, talented Leafs club, so they’ll need to be at their best.
The Maple Leafs
Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Hyman – Tavares – Marner
Johnsson – Matthews – Kapanen
Marleau – Nylander – Brown
Ennis – Gauthier – Moore
Johnsson – Matthews – Kapanen
Marleau – Nylander – Brown
Ennis – Gauthier – Moore
Rielly – Hainsey
Muzzin – Zaitsev
Marincin – Ozhiganov
Muzzin – Zaitsev
Marincin – Ozhiganov
Frederik Andersen starts for Toronto, backed up by Garret Sparks. The projected healthy scratches are Justin Holl and Nic Petan.
The Leafs are a pretty deep, fast, talented team. They’ve been humming along nicely since before the trade deadline, aside from a 6-1 loss to the New York Islanders last week. They’re a good team and this game should be a big, big test for the Flames.
The Numbers
| CGY | TOR | |
| Wins | 41 | 40 |
| Points | 89 | 84 |
| Adjusted Corsi | 53.4% | 51.6% |
| Power Play | 21.8% | 22.4% |
| Penalty Kill | 79.5% | 80.4% |
Injury Report
The Flames are without Michael Stone and James Neal.
The Maple Leafs are without Nazem Kadri, Jake Gardiner and Travis Dermott.
Season Series
This is the second and final game between these teams this season. The Flames beat the Leafs 3-1 in Toronto back in October.
Know Thy Enemy
Your Leafs Twitter follows for today:
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